Rattlesnake bite nearly kills teen

July 26, 2009|BY KEVIN WOSTER, Rapid City Journal

RAPID CITY (AP) - Jake Niedringhaus was out front as usual, leading the way on a family hike in Custer State Park, when the rattlesnake struck. ''I didn't see it, and I stepped on it,'' the 13-year-old Sioux Falls boy said. ''And then, I heard it rattle, and it bit me. And then everything happened.'' That ''everything'' included an unusually severe and immediate reaction to the bite that, in a matter of moments, caused Jake to lose his vision and ability to speak. It led to an emergency ride to Rapid City Regional Hospital in a helicopter that was guided to a remote landing spot by cell phone and enhanced 911 coverage, then a hurried airplane ride on to Sanford Children's Hospital in Sioux Falls. Along the way, it took 30 vials of antivenin to counteract the effects of the venom. And it left Jake's dad, Paul, believing he had seen a miracle, or perhaps a series of them, the most amazing of which was his son's own strength. ''I held him as I believed I was watching him die,'' Paul Niedringhaus said. ''And he fought through it. He's so strong, and his will to survive was so amazing. I told him to control his breathing and not thrash around. And he just did it.'' Jake has clear recollection of that, along with other details of the bite, the rescue and the sequence of emergency treatment that stretched out for hours and across the state June 13. ''I actually remember everything,'' he said. ''I couldn't see or talk, but I could hear.'' There was plenty to listen to as Jake's dad and uncle used a cell phone to call for help. Working with a dispatcher in Custer, they locked in GPS coordinates, and the dispatcher called the LifeFlight helicopter immediately. It soon landed in a meadow near where Jake lay. By then, Custer State Park ranger Buzz Laverick had arrived in his pickup. They loaded Jake in the truck and drove him to the helicopter. ''At that point, I was really concerned if he was going to make it to Rapid City or not,'' Paul Niedringhaus said. ''I asked if I could go along, but there wasn't room. Then it occurred to me that I had two other children on that hike, and I had to go find my wife.'' Jill Niedringhaus was with another child and other family members at the State Game Lodge Campground when she saw the LifeFlight helicopter flying toward the family's regular hiking route between the lodge and Iron Mountain Road. ''She knew when that helicopter went up over the hills that something was wrong, and she started crying,'' Paul Niedringhaus said. When he got back to the State Game Lodge, Paul and his wife, Jill, headed for Rapid City Regional. Doctors there decided to send Jake on to the children's intensive care unit at Sanford in Sioux Falls. By that evening, Jake had begun to improve. ''Within three or four hours, the antivenin was kicking in,'' Paul Niedringhaus said. ''By the time I got to the hospital in Sioux Falls later that evening, Jake could talk a little.'' Paul Niedringhaus said doctors believe the snake hit Jake in a vessel that fed an artery, compounding the effect of the poison. ''We've had calls from doctors who say these are the kind of bites that people die from,'' he said. ''Right into the blood stream and that far from medical assistance. Yet he survived with no ill effects. A lot of things had to go right.'' Today, Jake is back playing baseball for a Sioux Falls Teeners team. Neither he nor his dad notes any lingering physical effects from the bite. Jake, a devoted hunter who likes to lead family hikes to watch for wildlife, is ready to return to Custer State Park, and even to the same hiking route where the bite occurred. ''I asked him, and he has no reservations about going back,'' Paul Niedringhaus said. ''I think we'll be more aware of our surroundings. I've never seen a rattlesnake in the park before. It's rare to see one, and even rarer to get bit.'' Jake also plans to be more careful where he steps. But he doesn't worry much about being bitten again. ''We do that hike every year. I want to go back,'' he said. ''I don't know. It was one in a million.''